For the fifth straight year, Kaiser Permanente is the only health plan in California to earn a 4-star rating - the highest possible - for overall quality of care in the annual Healthcare Quality Report Card from the California Office of the Patient Advocate.

Kaiser Permanente in both Northern and Southern California also received 4 stars in the "Patients Rate their HMO" category, which measures members' satisfaction with their total care and service.

The 2013 report card (online at http://reportcard.opa.ca.gov/rc2013/hmorating.aspx) provides California consumers with side-by-side comparisons of the largest health plans in the state (10 HMOs and six PPOs), ranking them on national standard-of-care measures that involve treatment and prevention of a range of acute and chronic conditions with significant implications for personal health.

"As we have throughout our history, Kaiser Permanente continues to innovate, transform and lead in changing times," said Gregory A. Adams, president of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals/Health Plan Inc., in Northern California. This year, Kaiser Permanente in Northern California earned 4 stars in all nine of the report-card categories for clinical care, including asthma and lung care, cancer screening, diabetes care, heart care, maternity care, mental-health care, and "getting the right care" for both adults and children.